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Aidin Vaziri | After writing some of the most gargantuan pop hits of the past decade, including Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” and Pink’s “Get the Party Started,” Linda Perry is ready to resume her role as a proper rock ‘n’ roll belter. Last month, the former 4 Non Blondes singer dropped the first album by her new band, Deep Dark Robot, “8 Songs About a Girl,” and now she and bandmate Tony Tornay are back in the clubs playing it live.

Linda PerryQ: You have a pretty good gig writing for people like Christina Aguilera and Pink. What made you want to get back in a crummy van and hit the road to play in front of 30 people?A: It wasn’t really a choice. I did this interview when James Blunt’s last album came out, and the guy asked me, “So when are we going to expect another album from you?” And I said. “Never!” But then I stopped. I realized anything is possible in my life. When Tony and I met and decided we were going to be in a band, it just turned into an album.Q: Do you think maybe after working with James Blunt you just needed to rock out?A: It just happened organically. It was fun recording like that and not thinking. Everybody I work with overthinks everything. Everybody is so caught up with tempos and what’s on the radio and what VH1 will play. Nobody lets a creative process flow. It was fun.Q: So how do you go from writing a song like “Beautiful” to “F- You, Stupid Bitch!”?A: It’s just all the wonderful gift I was given. I realized how special my life was when, in one week, I worked with Alicia Keys, Dixie Chicks and I think it was Cheap Trick. How many people can do that? It’s just because I love music in every way. Good or bad. I believe all music is needed.Read more.